Chapter 3758: Missing Piece (Part 1) ’I thought Yaga stayed here to enjoy my company and get my help adapting the Harmonizer to her undead.’ Menadion thought. "Help me, Grandma." Kelia said as a pillar of golden light erupted from her body. "This is nothing like the breakthroughs I experienced in the past." "I know." Baba Yaga placed her right hand on Kelia’s chest and her left over the abdomen while activating her breathing technique, Sun and Moon. "That’s because Dusk is no longer with you to follow the development of his plan." "What do you mean?" Kelia asked, feeling the pain subside as the Mother guided the world energy from Kelia’s mana core to Dusk’s fragment, and from there throughout her life force. "He was working on awakening and merging your dormant Phoenix and Griffon bloodlines, remember?" Salaark answered the question to leave Baba Yaga free of focusing on Kelia’s rampaging mana core. "At each breakthrough, Dusk nudged the development of your life force to achieve his goal. "Now, however, your core is taking the leap from the bright green to the deep cyan. A single fragment of Dusk’s crystal isn’t strong enough for the task at hand. The shard still retains Dusk’s will and is trying to steer your life force in the right direction, but your body is rejecting the changes. "As I explained to Lith a long time ago, the awakening of a dormant bloodline is a rare phenomenon. You are mostly human with only a faint trace of Divine Beast blood. Your body needs to undergo massive changes to host the power of a single Divine Beast, let alone two. "On top of that, Dusk didn’t want you to become a Phoenix or a Griffon, but a perfect hybrid between the two. Like Lith and Valeron the Second." "I remember. He called me his perfect sword." Kelia grunted in pain as impurities trickled out of all her orifices and pores. "Let me guess, that makes the process even harder." "Much harder." Salaark nodded, feeling a tingle all over her skin as she started to perceive Kelia’s presence through her Blood Imprint bloodline ability. "That’s why your body is offering so much resistance." Truth be told, Kelia’s bones were supposed to shatter and reform, her organs to be squeezed, her skin to break, and her hair to fall. Yet Baba Yaga and the Guardians would never allow the children to be scared. The Mother had taken control of the breakthrough, turning the wild surges of world energy into a stable flow and forcing the impurities to leave Kelia’s body without destroying it in the process. "Did I smell so bad when I Awakened?" The stench of the black tar-like substance reached Leria’s nose, making her retch. "Worse." Aran said. "Well, you didn’t smell like flowers either!" Leria blushed in embarrassment. "Be quiet, kids." Lith said. "Watch and learn." Aran and Leria felt humiliated for being reproached by their brother/uncle. Yet they both forgot about it when they noticed a second golden pillar emerging from Kelia’s body and a third one descending from the ceiling to meet the other two. Suddenly, the pool of impurities surged from the ground and enveloped Kelia from head to toe. "Whgs hpng?" She tried to ask what was happening, but another surge of impurities drowned her words. "You’re luckier than I hoped." The Mother replied. "It seems that this falls under the umbrella of the babies’ protection." Aran and Leria looked around the table, discovering that Salaark’s and Tyris’ eyes glowed with mana. Before they could ask a single question, the three golden pillars fused into one, and the breakthrough reached its zenith. Where Kelia Sunbry had stood until a moment ago, now there was a humanoid creature about two meters (6’7") tall, covered by soft silvery feathers. She stood on two legs and had clawed paws for hands that resembled a lion’s while the talons of a bird of prey replaced her feet. A set of feathered wings came out of her shoulder blades and three Phoenix’s tail feathers from the small of her back. Her head was that of an eagle and had a raptor’s golden beak instead of a mouth. "Silver feathers?" Leria asked. "Can she use Dread Flames like Uncle Lith?" "I doubt it." Lith replied. "It’s more likely that-" Kelia felt something rise from her mana core, fill her heart, and then flood her chest where Dusk’s crystal shard was. Bolts of Life Maelstrom arched all over her body, crackling from one feather to another and growing in strength with each passage. Soon, the silver lightning became as strong as that of an adult Griffon and multiplied Kelia’s abilities tenfold. When it reached the Dusk’s fragment, she felt the Horseman again. ’Congratulations, kid. You did it.’ She heard his voice in her head just for a moment. Then, everything went black. *** Jiera continent, ruined city of Hervor, at the same time. Orpal was in the middle of a deathmatch against Jorl when it happened. Agony flooded his chest, freezing him in place. He took the punch that he was supposed to block in full, the impact shattering his jaw and skull. It wasn’t the first time that Orpal took a full-powered blow from the Storm Griffon, and it had never been a big deal. Night granted Orpal nigh-immortality, which allowed him to survive the most gruesome spars. Yet it was the first time that blood sprouted from the open wound instead of black crystals. The cracked skull remained cracked, and the Vurdalak seized uncontrollably. "I didn’t hit you that hard." Jorl said in confusion. "That was just a feint. You were supposed to block that. I didn’t put even half of my strength into that punch, and you survived my haymakers!" Orpal recognized the fear and worry in the Griffon’s voice. Fear that the Vurdalak would die before turning Jorl into a full Upyr. Worry that without Orpal, the Storm Griffon would lose his newfound powers and home. Without the Vurdalak, Jorl would be back to being an exiled Griffon who couldn’t return to his nest without being detained and interrogated. He would have to spend the rest of his life on the run or get executed by his own kin the moment Tyris discovered her wayward son had helped Orpal. Jorl never let it show, but he was well aware of how much was at stake in their partnership. At least until he became a true Upyr. After that, Orpal’s death would have been nothing more than a minor annoyance. "I know." Orpal grunted. "Give me a second." He used his breathing technique, Birthright, to check what was wrong with his body. His life force and mana core turned out to be in perfect condition. Night’s crystal, instead, was full of cracks and seconds away from shattering into a thousand pieces. The red parts rejected the black ones, forming hair-thin fissures wherever they touched. ’What’s happening?’ He asked via their mind link. ’I thought you had succeeded in fusing your crystal with Dusk’s. The process was supposed to be over and done!’ ’I did and it is!’ She said while pouring all of her might and focus on keeping her crystal heart together. ’Then what is wrong with us?’ Orpal asked.